Many people will get out of bed Tuesday resolved to start eating healthier in the new year.People who are successful at weight loss often have a plan that fits their lifestyle and that they are motivated to stick with, nutrition experts say. Some people like to diet alone; others like social support. It's best to follow something that you can stick with for a lifetime.
, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of North Florida and a past president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics....More at Pick the best diet plan for you - USA TODAY
While the first fews days or weeks of a resolution might be met with dedication, old habits and a lack of motivation can begin to seep in. Before those excuses set in, here is some advice from local experts to help turn your resolutions into reality.
Fitness
While joining a gym may be a necessary first step to becoming physically fit, it shouldn’t be the only step, according to Kris Clark, director of sports nutrition at Penn State.
A “concrete” fitness plan is also imperative to sticking with your fitness resolution, she said.
For example, after joining a fitness club, determine which days and times to plan to attend each week, and try to find someone who can help you keep up consistency.
Clark recommends taking a fitness class.
“If you just join a club and don’t designate a time, then you’re never accountable for when you’re going to show up,” she said. “If you join a class, people know that you’re going to be there. You’re accountable.”
Clark also says the best way to stick to a larger goal is to break it down into smaller ones.
“It has to be a short-term goal, and you have to have a strategy,” she said.
And once those goals are met, Clark also says to make sure to reward yourself.
“If you’re goal is 50 pounds, and it’s not going to be achieved for 12 months, there’s no reward,” she said.
By making monthly goals, you can reap the benefits of your achievements. But just make sure they’re appropriate.
“If it’s a weightloss goal that you’re trying to achieve, it shouldn’t be a food reward,” she said. “Getting together with a friend, going to see a movie … come up with some sort of reward strategy.”
In addition to rewards, you can also make the decision to train for an event — such as a walking, running or bicycling race — for motivation.
“If you identify something you want to get in shape for, then you identify strategies to get ready fo this event,” she said.
Most importantly, Clark said, is to “make it easy for yourself,” and tailor your fitness plan to your schedule.
“There are videos that people can exercise to if they have small children and can’t leave the house,” she said. “Designate a time that you’re going to put that video in the player … is it going to be 6 or 7 a.m. when no one is up?”
Clark said she recently joined a gym that offers an early morning class that fits all of her recommended criteria.
“I have to go when I have time. ... I’m accountable, people are going to know me, I’m paying for it, and it ends March 1.”
Health
Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions revolve around losing weight, eating a better diet and improving health.
But where to start?
Jen Fleming, a clinical coordinator in the department of nutritional sciences, says to “make your goals achievable so that you can actually accomplish them.”
To determine those goals, Fleming says, write down what you would like to achieve and what it is that you think has prevented you from achieving them.
“You also have to look at what has inhibited you up to this point (and) what can you do to overcome those,” she said.
For example, if you want to eat better but don’t know where to start, Fleming says to ask yourself if you are eating breakfast and how often you are eating out. Once you identify areas of improvement, you can set your goals.
When deciding how to modify your diet, Fleming says to take cue from the grocery store and “shop the perimeters” since less processed foods are usually located along the outside walls of most stores.
“Go around the outside then make your way in, and if nothing else, you get a few extra steps,” she said.
Fleming also recommends picking one new healthy food at a time to try since “sometimes I think we get stuck in the same routines,” and a complete change may be overwhelming.
While at the store, “try a new recipe ... and in the process, find something you like,” she says.
And make sure to pay attention to what you drink, too.
“I think it’s overlooked,” Fleming said. “So much depends on the food and what we drink. Add more water and cut out sugar-sweetened beverages.”
Clark, the director of sports nutrition at Penn State, agrees with keeping food goals small and simple.
She says that health resolutions usually fall into one of two categories: a weight-directed goal or a vow to eat better, and “the problem with those approaches is they’re not really very measurable … or a person has an outcome in mind that might be too grandiose.”
She says that many times, resolutions are “too broad.”
“It’s not that it’s a bad goal, but it need to be broken down into real bite-size, measurable pieces,” she said.
Clark tells people who are looking to accomplish a larger goal to break it down into smaller, more attainable goals.
“They’re taking one bite, and they’re working for just a short period of time on that one bite,” she said. “It keeps it more exciting, it doesn’t seem so long-term and it’s measurable.”
Clark says to identify one or two things in your diet to work on at a time.
“Rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, identify a couple of real problem areas,” she said, and make sure the changes you make are realistic.
For example, if you’re used to snacking after work, “a really great thing to change is what you’re snacking on, not (the fact) that you’re snacking,” she said. “Have better food available.”
Clark suggests keeping a healthy snack such as an apple or dried fruit at your desk or in your car to eat toward the end of your workday to “prevent yourself from getting into that starvation state.”
And if what you’re looking for is a diet plan, Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State, has a few resources for you.
For the past three years, Kris-Etherton has helped the U.S. News & World Report compile its yearly “best diets” list.
She and 19 other panelists evaluated and ranked 29 diets based on a list of nutritional criteria and questions such as “is it going to be hard to follow this?”
Topping this year’s list, which was released Tuesday, was the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet. It focuses on preventing and lowering blood pressure, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s website.
The diet — which focuses on eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains and cuts out sodium and sugars — was named the best diet overall.
Kris-Etherton said that while these diet plans can be beneficial, it can be overwhelming to completely switch all your eating habits at once.
“Think about small steps,” she said. “You’re not going to change things in a big way overnight, but just give it time and gradually you can make some big, positive changes.”
For example, she said, if you’re not used to eating a lot of fruit, start by increasing the number of fruits you eat by one a week, then go from there.
Kris-Etherton also recommends looking at the government’s “Small Steps. Big Rewards.” program to find examples of small changes you can make in your diet to eat more heathfully.
“Once you look at these best diets overall, try to find an eating pattern that you could follow for a lifetime,” she said. “Find something that you can stick with so that a person isn’t on one, off one.”
Finances
If you’re looking to clean up your finances and start saving for the future, Jim Miles, the Joseph F. Bradley professor of finance at Penn State, has a few tips to get you started.
His first piece of advice?
Get your debt under control — especially credit card debt, which can have high interest rates. If you have a significant amount accrued, set up a plan to pay it off as soon as possible, he said.
Once you get your debt under control, make regular credit card payments and monitor your credit score.
“I pay mine off at the end of every month,” Miles said about his credit card bills. He also recommends using a free credit score service to monitor your progress.
Miles said he uses Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com), which sends him a free monthly estimate of his score.
The second step to improving your finances is to invest.
“There’s the old saying, ‘pay yourself first’,” Miles said.
If your employer offers some sort of matching plan, such as a 401k, Miles recommends always participating.
If your company doesn’t offer a plan, he says to seek one out through a mutual fund family, such as Vanguard or Fidelity.
“You just call them and say ‘I want to open an account,’ and they’ll tell you what to do,” Miles said.
Miles’ only caveat is to look for a plan that offers a “target date retirement fund” that is dated the year you plan to retire.
He said a larger portion of a younger person’s money would be invested in stocks since it would have more time in the market.
“The further out in the future the retirement year, the more heavily invested in stocks,” he said.
Most importantly, Miles said to get yourself to a place where you are “gaining control over an important part of your life.”
“Climbing out of a hole is not very inspiring,” he said. “Whereas building wealth by contributing to an IRA, that can be pleasant.”...More at New year, new you: Turn your resolutions into reality with these start-up tips ... - Centre Daily Times
1. Write Your Pounds Off
2. Think Quality Calories
Nearly 90 percent of the dieters in the NWCR restrict unhealthy junk foods and beverages to achieve a slimmer physique. A recent study from the University of Pittsburg, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that those who had the most diet success limited desserts, fried foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages. These foods are considered to have the most “addictive”-like qualities and are primed to be stored as body fat, while they stimulate hunger and cravings for more of the junk. On the other hand, foods such as fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains are nutrient-rich and keep you satisfied.
RELATED: Kick of your new, healthier way of eating with this seven-day clean-eating plan.
3. Put the Brakes on Booze
Alcohol is a two-for-one in a bad way, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: It acts directly on the brain to stimulate appetite and simultaneously makes high-calorie foods more appealing. If you can’t give up alcohol altogether, max out at one to two drinks a week.
4. Turn Off the Tube
Those who watch more than two hours of TV a day also eat more calories and exercise less than those who limit screen time. Eating while catching your favorite programs is also associated with overeating because the distracted nature shuts down your hunger-regulating hormones. In addition, other studies show that images of desirable foods shown on TV trigger ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry. The best bet is to limit the telly to no more than two hours a day and use commercial time to do bodyweight exercises.
5. Go with the Pro(tein)
Studies show that protein provides more metabolic advantages over either carbohydrates or fats when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off. Many experts suggest that the success of low-carb diets is due to the higher amounts of protein rather than the low amounts of carbohydrates. Shift some of your carb and fat calories to protein, striving for 20 to 30 grams in each of your main meals for the most benefit.
RELATED: Hey vegans! Whip up some of these high-protein vegan meals to be sure you meat your pro needs. (Non-vegans will love them too!)
6. Move It!
Just 1 percent of successful losers from the NWCR say they lost weight with diet alone and 9 percent slimmed down with only exercise, whereas 90 percent combined diet and exercise. A fitness program that provides aerobic conditioning, intervals, and strength training—which helps the body retain more lean tissue while losing body fat—are most effective to torch calories and keep your metabolism revving.
...More at The Best Diet - Shape Magazine (blog)
RT @WeightWatchers: We topped @USNewsHealth's list for the Best Weight Loss Diet! Find out why here: http://t.co/oejV7emAInsert more text here
— Marilyn8947 (Marilyn A. Marlin) (@Marilyn8947) Sat Jan 12 2013
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